6. Basic rent shall correspond to 25% of the total monthly income of both occupants 1 and 2 less an amount corresponding to 2% of the amount of their annual work income established by taking into account the reduction provided for in paragraph 2 of section 7, without exceeding $30.
However, a lower basic rent may be established where one of the occupants declares work income, employment-assistance allowances or both and does not receive benefits paid under the Old Age Security Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. O-9). The basic rent shall then be the lesser of the following amounts:(1) the monthly basic rent stipulated in the lease for the preceding year, increased by $50;
(2) as the case may be, $646 for occupant 1 or $720 for occupants 1 and 2. Notwithstanding subparagraph 2 of the second paragraph, the amount of the basic monthly rent may not be less than the basic monthly rent stipulated in the lease for the preceding year. In addition, subparagraph 1 of the second paragraph shall only apply if occupant 1 was a party to the lease of the preceding year.
The rules related to the calculation of a lower basic rent provided for in the second and third paragraphs shall apply only upon the request of occupant 1 and only if they allow for a reduction in the basic rent that would otherwise have to be paid. Such request, if accepted, may only be made once by the same person in which case, the rent of the dwelling occupied by that person shall be calculated by taking those rules into consideration but only for 3 consecutive lease periods calculated from the date on which the request took effect. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a new lessee whose first lease is less than 12 months, the rules related to the calculation of a lower basic rent shall then apply for 4 consecutive lease periods calculated from the date on which the application took effect.
If occupant 2 is a child of occupant 1 or of his spouse, the monthly income of that occupant considered to determine the rent may not exceed $427 if that child is aged 18 to 20 years, or $848 if aged 21 to 24 years. The amounts referred to in subparagraph 2 of the second paragraph and in the fifth paragraph shall be indexed annually on 1 March in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for rental dwellings as determined for the preceding month of December by Statistics Canada for Ville de Montréal. The indexed amounts shall be rounded off to the nearest dollar. The Société d’habitation du Québec shall inform the public of the annual indexation by a notice published in the Gazette officielle du Québec or by such other means as it may consider appropriate.
O.C. 523-2001, s. 6; 729-2020O.C. 729-2020, s. 31.